The Rise of the Teleworker: False Promises and Responsive Solutions

Author(s): Heather Kanuka, Kam Jugdev, Robert Heller and Dan West
Source: Higher Education, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Aug., 2008), pp. 149-165
Published by: Springer
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29735233
Accessed: 27-04-2019 02:45 UTC

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165
DOI 10.1007/sl0734-007-9095-z

The rise of the teleworker: false promises and responsive

solutions

Heather Kanuka ? Kam Jugdev ? Robert Heller ? Dan West

Published online: 11 September 2007

? Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of
how to provide learning opportunities to improve teaching practices for the increasing
numbers of academics who are choosing to work online from remote offices, sometimes
called e-academics, remote workers, or teleworkers. The objectives of the study were
twofold: (1) to explore structures that can encourage the improvement of teaching practices
and (2) to do so in ways that will overcome many of the unique participation barriers for
teaching practitioners (e.g., academics, tutors/adjuncts) who are working off campus.
Through descriptive and factor analyses, the results of this study provide suggestions for
structures and practices which can be managed skillfully to create an environment that
provides continuous learning opportunities to improve teaching for the rising numbers of
e-academics.

Keywords Continuous learning opportunities ? Online distance education ?

Teaching development in Canada ? Teleworkers

Introduction

Institutions of higher education that provide open and distance learning (ODL) are cur?
rently being challenged by increasingly complex changes, including new demands for
networked participation, postmodern ways of knowing, demands for emphasis on learning
instead of teaching and content, and the rapid development of new communication tech?
nologies. This has given rise to questions regarding changing roles and competencies
required to effectively facilitate technology-mediated distance delivered learning activities
and, in turn, the ongoing need for continuous learning opportunities (Barker 2002; Bennett
and Marsh 2002; Thorpe 2002). Complicating this issue is the increasing number of full
time academics who are choosing, like their students, to work off-campus. Recently

H. Kanuka (El) ? K. Jugdev ? R. Heller ? D. West

Athabasca University, Peace Hills Trust Tower, 1200, 10011-109 St, Edmonton, Canada T5J 3S8
e-mail: heatherk@athabascau.ca

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 150 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

academics working from remote offices have been referred to as e-academics. Prior to the
tendency to attach the 'e' to all activities related to web-based technologies, remote
workers were referred to as tele workers. For those who are choosing to be tele workers,
there are barriers to accessing continuous learning opportunities normally offered on
campus (Jones 2004). In our own institution the number of academics who have opted to be
teleworkers now exceeds 50%.
The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how to provide con?
tinuous learning opportunities to improve teaching practices for academics who are
teleworking. While this study draws data from our own institution (a distance-education
and online university in Canada, serving approximately 32,000 students per year), the
results have implications for on-campus universities elsewhere who are also exploring
teleworking options for their academics and/or experiencing a deepening segmentation of
academic labor into tenured professors and contract academics (Bauder 2006)?many who
are also teaching online distance delivered courses from their home offices.

The rise of the teleworker

Institutions of ODL normally partition the delivery of the learning activities (delivered
by tutors) from the development of the curriculum (developed by instructional designers
and subject matter experts) in order to create economies of scale. Tutors are employed
on part-time, temporary contracts, and work from a home office?often called 'tele?
working' . More recently, some ODL institutions have begun to offer teleworking options
for their full-time staff in efforts to retain their best academics, as well as recruit
promising new academics. Teleworking can be an attractive opportunity for both the
institution and the employees. Flexibility in personal and family scheduling is cited as a
major reason for telecommuting from home particularly among dual-career couples
(Pinsonneault and Boisvert 1996). Elsewhere, it has been reported that teleworkers have:
more positive views about family and personal life than employees working in an on-site
office (Hill Ferris and Martinson 2003); increased productivity and work quality; less
distraction and fewer interruptions; an ability to work during the most productive part of
the day; time saved from commuting, and; an increase in perceived job satisfaction (Ng
2006; Pinsonneault and Boisvert 1996).

False promises

As with most opportunities, though, it has tradeoffs. One troubling drawback to tele?
working is that it creates a potentially vulnerable situation for teleworkers arising from the
lack of contact between colleagues and a lack of identification with the institution.
Research has shown that as identification with an institution and commitment decreases so
does the contribution to the institution and job satisfaction (Mael and Ashforth 1992;
Meyer and Allen 1997; Meyer et al. 2002), as well as an increase in turnover intentions
(Beyth-Marom et al. 2006). Other research has shown that the lack of contact and being
out of sight limits opportunities for promotion and organizational rewards (Cooper and
Kurland 2002), including access to employee development activities. Fouche (2006)
reminds us that, while researchers and theorists have acknowledged that online distance
learning is an isolating experience for students, overlooked have been investigations about
online distance teaching as an isolating experience for the instructors.

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 151

Strategies and structures for teleworkers

Research by Fouche (2006) revealed that feelings of isolation can be significantly

decreased when there is regular contact and collaboration amongst colleagues. The most
effective contact activities are those that revolve around the provision of regular training
and continuous administrative support?with the most recurring theme being skills
development. Elsewhere, Wheeler (2004) (see also Lockwood and Latchem 2004; Schrum
and Ohler 2005) has noted that, while continuous learning opportunities provide those
individuals involved in the design and delivery of the learning materials with essential
information on new methods, technologies and applications, it also provides opportunities
to have contact with, and collaboration among, colleagues in ways that support identifi?
cation with the institution while at the same time defraying feelings of isolation.
While the provision of continuous learning opportunities can address some of these
issues (i.e., isolation), in agreement with Kirkwood and Price (2006) it cannot effect
change in a vacuum: "Institutions need to review and investigate the factors facing them,
and use the evidence to develop appropriate policies and practices to address them in a
holistic manner" (p. 9). One of these factors in ODL institutions is the need to achieve and
maintain economies of scale.

Dealing with economies of scale

Achieving economies of scale in most ODL institutions is necessary for continued exis?
tence. Most ODL institutions effectively achieve economies of scale by adopting an
industrialized model of distance education. This model requires a separation of the prep?
aration of materials and resources for teaching and learning from the interaction of students
with those materials and with their instructor. In the industrialized model?which has been
successfully used for more than three decades?the center of focus is on the construction of
the learning and teaching materials rather than on the process of learning (Harris and
Holmes 1976). The development of the teaching and learning materials in this manner
results in high quality course content, but requires little or no active involvement on the
part of the learners (Kirkwood and Price 2006). Thirty or so years ago when many ODL
institutions were being created, focusing on the delivery of quality content was, generally,
considered an acceptable practice. In more recent times, this approach (the focus on the
transmission of content) has been widely criticized for encouraging students to be passive
and approach their learning in a superficial way (e.g., Entwhistle and Ramsdon 1983;
Gibbs 1992; Laurillard 2002; Prosser and Twigwell 1991).
While acknowledging the limitations of the industrialized model, most ODL institutions
justifiably continued to use it because alternative two-way communication technologies
available at the time (e.g., multi-point audio and video conferencing) were expensive and
created additional temporal and situational barriers for targeted student populations?
especially in comparison to paper-based and one-way technologies (e.g., audio and video
tapes). However, within the last decade rapid advances in information and telecommuni?
cation technologies (e.g., Internet, satellite, and mobile telephone technologies) have
become affordable and ubiquitous?rendering past justification for the industrial model
inadequate. In particular, it has become difficult to justify the transmissive style of delivery
(e.g., solitary and passive) in an increasingly networked society (Kirkwood and Price
2006).

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 152 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

Movement toward increased uses of learning centerd approaches and information and
communication technologies is an aim for most ODL institutions; however, it requires
teaching and learning support services. Without ongoing learning activities on alternative
teaching methods and curriculum development, existing educational developers and
instructors remain unaware of the changes in educational approaches and technologies.
Regrettably, access to participation in on-campus continuous learning programs is not
feasible, or even possible, for the rising numbers of teleworkers who are working from
their home office.

Methodology

Survey development

When the aim is to improve university teaching, there are two issues to consider. One issue
focuses on good teaching. The other issue focuses on the environment that makes good
teaching possible (Harrison 2002). When institutions do not deal with the second issue (the
environment), the first issue (good teaching) has little chance of success. "Unless the
structures and policies are in place to support teaching innovation, to recognize teaching
effort and, especially, to reward performance, the culture of universities will remain largely
unchanged" (Harrison, p. 4).
An extensive literature review conducted by Harrison (2002) identified the structures
and practices that can encourage the improvement of teaching practices. Based on Har?
rison's findings, we developed a survey which was then piloted by a small number of
colleagues. After minor revisions were made based on the pilot, the survey was then hosted
at Zoomerang?, which is Internet-based software provided by Market Tools Inc?. On
average, the survey took 10 min to complete.
There were six sections in the survey, which were used as the primary measures of
interest: delivery methods (eight questions focused on preferred delivery models for
teleworking); teaching resources (16 questions on current and proposed services); strategic
planning (11 questions on directions for future planning); teaching beliefs (three ques?
tions), workplace satisfaction (six questions on coll?gial relations and professional
development support); and demographic data (age, sex, teaching experience, workplace
location, position classification, program classification, and year of hire).

Results

Participants and response rate

The survey was sent to 609 staff members who were involved in the design and delivery of
course materials. One hundred and eighty-seven participants completed the survey for a
31% response rate. An additional 22 participants started the survey but discontinued prior
to the halfway point. Of the 187 respondents, 85% (or 161) reported themselves as tele?
workers (remote academics working from their home office). Respondents reporting that
they were not teleworkers were removed from the sample. Table 1 displays the demo?
graphic data for this group.

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 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 153

Table 1 Demographic data

Frequencies Percentage

Gender
Men 48 29.8
Women 108 67.1
Missing 5 3.1
Age
<40 32 19.9
40-49 41 25.5
50-59 70 43.5
60+ 16 9.9
Missing 2 1.2
Position
Academic 53 32.9
Tutor/Adjunct 107 66.5
Professional 0 0
Missing 1 .6

Primary measures

Delivery methods

Table 2 displays the results of preferred delivery methods. The first column describes the
method and the second column provides a weighted summary of importance as expressed
on a five-point Likert-type scale where higher numbers indicate higher importance.
The eight questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and there was a statistically significant effect of Delivery Method
F(7,1078) = 38.279, p < .001. Pairwise comparisons were performed among the meth?
ods, the least preferred method being "print-based teaching resources housed in the
institution's physical space" (Ql) was significantly lower than all other methods (with
each of Bonferroni adjusted p < .01), the most preferred method, "digitally-based
teaching resources located on the institution's web space" (Q2), was significantly higher
than all other methods (with each of Bonferroni adjusted p < .001). The remaining
methods were clustered between 3.39 and 3.59 and not significantly different from each
other.
A principal components analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation was completed on the
data in order to reduce the items into underlying constructs. The resulting structure, shown
in Table 3, revealed two factors. The first factor accounted for 42% of the variance and
consisted of all the online delivery methods and could be described as Technology
Mediated Delivery. The second factor accounted for 26% of the variance and consisted of
the remaining three items on face-to-face meetings and accessing print materials and best
described as Face-to-Face Mediated Delivery.
Based on the PCA, the questionnaire items associated with each factor were averaged to
create an estimate of the two underlying constructs. A paired f-test indicated a statistically
significant difference between these two subscales, t (159) = 4.467, p < .001. Technology
Mediated Delivery (M = 3.68) was rated higher than Face-to-Face Mediated Delivery
(M = 3.28). There is a weak correlation between these two subscales (Pearson's r = .210,

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 154 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

Table 2 Preferred delivery methods

Delivery methods N M SD
Question leader. I would...

Q2: access digitally-based teaching resources located on the 155 4.37 .822
institution's web space
Q6: attend face-to-face teaching workshops facilitated by 155 3.59 1.091
invited experts in distance-delivered teaching
Q8: attend synchronous teaching workshops facilitated by 155 3.56 1.057
invited experts in distance-delivered teaching using
Web-based conferencing tools
Q5: attend synchronous teaching workshops facilitated by 155 3.55 1.039
the institution's academic staff using web-based
conferencing tools
Q3: attend face-to-face teaching workshops facilitated by the 155 3.50 1.107
institution's academic staff

Q7: attend online asynchronous teaching workshops facilitated 155 3.46 1.089
by invited experts in distance-delivered teaching using
threaded discussions
Q4: attend online asynchronous teaching workshops facilitated 155 3.39 1.083
by the institution's academic staff using threaded discussions
Ql: access print-based teaching resources housed in the 155 2.73 1.335
institution's physical space

Table 3 Rotated component matrix for preferred delivery methods

Delivery methods Factor 2: Face-to-Face

Factor 1: Technology
Question leader. I would.. Mediated Delivery
Mediated Delivery

Q4: attend online asynchronous teaching workshops .882

facilitated by the institution's academic staff using
threaded discussions

Q7: attend online asynchronous teaching workshops .879

facilitated by invited experts in distance-delivered
teaching using threaded discussions
Q5: attend synchronous teaching workshops facilitated .876
by the institution's academic staff using web-based
conferencing tools
Q8: attend synchronous teaching workshops facilitated .870
by invited experts in distance-delivered teaching
using Web-based conferencing tools
Q2: access digitally-based teaching resources located on .470
the institution's web space
Q3: attend face-to-face teaching workshops facilitated .880
by the institution's academic staff
Q6: attend face-to-face teaching workshops facilitated .871
by invited experts in distance-delivered teaching
Ql: access print-based teaching resources housed in the .714
institution's physical space

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 155

p = .008, n - 160), but they are statistically significant correlated due to the reasonably
large sample size.

Teaching resources

Table 4 displays the results of preferred teaching resources. The first column describes the
method and the third column provides a weighted summary of importance as expressed by
the proportion of respondents who endorsed the resource. Higher proportions indicate
higher importance.
The first six items (Q12, Q7, Q9, Q15, Q3, and Q16) were endorsed by approximately
half of all respondents and represent a spectrum of issues and resources related to effective
online learning. In particular, the items seem focused on pedagogical goals and related
outcomes such as motivating students and effective use of technology. The next four items
(Q6, Q4, Q8, and Q13) were endorsed by over a third of the participants and are more
focused on online discussion forums, and web logs. The final six items (Q2, Q14, Ql 1, Q5,
Ql, and Q10) were endorsed by less than a third of all respondents and are a mixture of
issues and resources.

Table 4 Teaching resources

Teaching resources N M SD
Question leader. I would like to see more teaching
resources on how to (check all that apply):

Q12: engage self-paced learners through motivations 161 .55 .499

strategies
Q7: deal with difficult students 161 .54 .500
Q9: conduct different instructional methods in an online 161 .52 .501
classroom (e.g., debates, Webquests, case studies,
problem-based learning, invited guest, nominal group
technique)
Q15: use Learning Management Systems (LMS) (e.g., 161 .51 .501
Moodle) to improve learning
Q3: assess student contributions in online discussions 161 .48 .501
Q16: effectively use online student assessment tools 161 .47 .500
(e.g., quizzes or exams)
Q6: maintain meaningful online discussions 161 .45 .499
Q4: start effective online discussions 161 .43 .496
Q8: deal with difficult students on the phone 161 .42 .494
Q13: effectively use web logs (Blogs) with my students 161 .41 .493
Q2: moderate text-based asynchronous discussions 161 .32 .467
Q14: effectively use wikis with my students 161 .29 .453
Qll: ensure I am using proper email etiquette with my 161 .28 .450
students
Ql: effectively moderate text-based synchronous 161 .26 .440
discussions
Q5: bring closure to online discussions 161 .25 .437
Q10: ensure I am using proper phone etiquette with my 161 .22 .414
students

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 156 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

The 16 questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure ANO VA and there was a
significant effect of Teaching Resource, F(15,2400) = 11.629, p < .001. A PCA with
Varimax rotation was completed on the data in order to reduce the items into underlying
constructs. The resulting structure, shown in Table 5, revealed three factors. The first
factor accounted for 23% of the variance and consisted of items that dealt with the
effective use of different online resources. The second factor accounted for 16% of the
variance and consisted of interpersonal skills required for dealing with individuals. The
third factor accounted for 15% of the variance and dealt almost exclusively with the
engagement/motivation online discussion forums.
Based on the PCA, the questionnaire items associated with each factor were averaged to
create an estimate of the three underlying constructs: Effective Use of Technology, Inter?
personal Skills, Engagement/Management of Online Discussion Forums with means of

Table 5 Rotated component matrix for teaching resources

Teaching resources Factor 1: Effective Factor 2: Factor 3: Engagement/

Question leader, how to... Use of Technology Inter-Personal Motivation of Online
Skills Discussion Forums

Q13: effectively use Web logs (Blogs).737

with
my students
.711
Q14: effectively use wikis with my students
.656
Q3: to assess student contributions in online .318
discussions
Q9: conduct different instructional methods .649
in an online classroom (e.g., debates,
Webquests, case studies, problem-based
learning, invited guest, nominal group
technique)
Ql: effectively moderate text-based .614
synchronous discussions
Q2: moderate text-based asynchronous .605 .402
discussions
Q15: use Learning Management Systems .596
(LMS) (e.g., Moodle) to improve learning
Q16: effectively use online student .549 .307
assessment tools (e.g., quizzes or exams)
Q10: ensure I am using proper phone .849
etiquette with my students
Qll: ensure I am using proper email .845
etiquette with my students
Q8: deal with difficult students on the phone .773
Q7: deal with difficult students .551
Q4: start effective online discussions .776
Q6: maintain meaningful online discussions .316 .764
Q5: to bring closure to online discussions .718
Q12: engage self-paced learners through .305 .504
motivations strategies

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 157

.405, .363, .421 respectively. Oneway repeated measure ANOVA of three levels was
performed which was not significant, F(3,320) = 1.692, p = 0.186.

Instructional/Course services

Table 6 displays the results of preferred delivery methods. The first column describes the
service and the second column provides a weighted summary of importance as expressed
on a five-point Likert scale where higher numbers indicate higher importance. As can be
seen, the need for teaching retreats was rated most important overall, although the absolute
magnitude of the rating is generally moderate.
The four questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure ANOVA and there was
a significant effect of Instructional/Course Service, F(3,453) = 5.984, p = .001. Satisfac?
tion with course development is rated significantly lower than teaching retreats (Q2)
(Bonferroni adjusted p = .004), and teaching portfolios (Q3) rated (Bonferroni adjusted
p = .016).
A PCA with Varimax rotation was completed on the data in order to reduce the items
into underlying constructs. The resulting structure, shown in Table 7, revealed two factors.
The first factor accounted for 43% of the variance and consisted of the first three items
services focused on Teaching/Instructional Support. The second factor accounted for an
additional 26% of the variance and consisted of a single item focused on Course Devel?
opment Satisfaction.
Based on the PCA, the three questionnaire items associated with the first factor were
averaged to create an estimate of the underlying construct, Teaching/Instructional Support.
The fourth item was used as a direct estimate of the second factor, Course Development
Satisfaction. A Paired Samples t test indicated that support for Teaching/Instructional
Support (M = 3.368) was greater than Satisfaction with Course Development (M = 3.000),
t(156) = 3.557, p < .001. There is no correlation between Teaching/Instructional Support
and Satisfaction with Course Development (Pearson's r = -.017, p = .836, n = 157).

Strategic planning

Table 8 displays the items that deal with Strategic Planning. The first column describes the
service and the second column provides a weighted summary of importance as expressed
on a five-point Likert scale where higher numbers indicate higher importance. As can be
seen, the need for sustained early training (Ql) and support for innovative teaching
explorations (Ql 1) were the most highly rated items of importance. The least important

Table 6 Instructional/course services

Instructional/course services N M SD

Q2: I would attend teaching retreats 152 3.45 1.127

Q3: I would use a teaching portfolio development service 152 3.36 1.064
Ql: I would use peer-to-peer support teaching services 152 3.22 1.031
Q4: I am satisfied with the existing course development services 152 3.02 .993
Valid N (listwise) 152

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 158 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

Table 7 Rotated component matrix for instructional/course services

Instructional/course services Factor 1: Teaching Factor 2: Satisfaction

Support with Course Development
Q2: I would attend teaching retreats .760
Q3: I would use a teaching portfolio .760
development service
Ql: I would use peer-to-peer support .751
teaching services
Q4: I am satisfied with the existing course .971
development services

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization

strategic items dealt with mandatory courses on threaded discussions (Q4) and mid-course
evaluations of instructors (Q7).
The 11 questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure ANO VA and there was a
significant effect of Strategic Planning, F( 10,1490) = 57.533, p < .001. A PCA with
Varimax rotation was completed on the data in order to reduce the items into underlying
constructs. The resulting structure, shown in Table 9, revealed three factors. The first
factor accounted for 23% of the variance and consisted of six items focused on Support for
the Scholarship of Teaching and Sustained Training. The second factor accounted for an
additional 22% of the variance and consisted of the four items dealing with Evaluation of
Courses and Instructors. The final factor accounted for an additional 17% of the variance
and consisted of two items (Q2 and Q4) concerned with Mandatory Courses. Table 9
reveals, however, that these factors were not clean each had an item that cross-loaded with
the another factor.
Based on the PCA, the questionnaire items associated with each factor were averaged to
create an estimate of the underlying constructs: Scholarship of Teaching, Course/Instructor
Evaluation, and Mandatory Courses. The three constructs were analyzed in a oneway
repeated measure ANOVA and there was a significant effect of Strategic Planning Con?
struct, F(2,318) = 59.636, p < .001. Pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni corrections
indicate that there is a statistically significant difference between Scholarship of Teaching
(M = 3.944) and of Courses/Instruction Evaluation (M = 3.278), and Mandatory Courses
(M = 3.156) with both Bonferroni adjusted p < .001. However there is no statistically
significant difference between Courses/Instruction Evaluation and Mandatory Courses
with Bonferroni adjusted p - All.

Teaching beliefs

Table 10 displays the items that deal with teaching beliefs. The first column describes the
service and the second column provides a weighted summary of importance as expressed
on a five-point Likert scale where higher numbers indicate higher importance. As can be
seen, the belief in one's own teaching practice as important (Q3) was the most highly rated
item of the three items in this section and the highest item rated from all sections con?
sidered. The three questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure ANOVA and
there was a significant effect of Teaching Belief, F(2,316) = 50.126, p < .001. Pairwise

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 159

Table 8 Strategie planning

Strategie planning N M SD
Question leader: I believe...

Ql: new teaching staff should be provided with an option 150 4.23 .636
for sustained early straining in distance-delivered
teaching
Qll: there should be funds available for innovative 150 4.15 .669
teaching explorations
Q10: there should be support services for the scholarship of 150 3.95 .663
teaching and learning
Q9: there should be support services for teaching staff who 150 3.76 .730
are applying for university-wide, national, or
international teaching awards
Q6: there should be a university-wide end-of-course 150 3.75 1.003
evaluation of course design
Q3: new teaching staff should be provided with an option 150 3.67 .807
for sustained early training in effective teaching
strategies with asynchronous threaded discussions
Q2: there should be mandatory course on distance-delivery 150 3.41 .812
for teaching effectiveness for new teaching staff
Q8: there should be a graduate supervision evaluation form 150 3.37 1.190
Q5: there should be a university-wide end-of-course 150 3.36 1.095
evaluation of instructors

Q4: there should be mandatory courses in effective teaching 150 3.91 1.074
strategies with asynchronous threaded discussions for
new teaching staff
Q7: there should be a university-wide mid-course 150 2.66 .989
evaluation of instructors

comparisons indicated that belief in one's own teaching practice as important (Q3) was
rated significantly higher (Bonferroni adjusted p = .001) than beliefs about institutional
values (Q2) and web based technologies (Ql). The latter two did not differ from each
other.
A PCA with Varimax rotation was completed on the data in order to reduce the items
into underlying constructs. The resulting structure revealed a single factor of all items
accounting for 45% of the variance.

Workplace satisfaction

Table 11 displays the items that deal with workplace satisfaction. The first column
describes the workplace issue and the second column provides a weighted summary of
importance as expressed on a five-point Likert scale where higher numbers indicate higher
importance. As can be seen, good working relationships with academic colleagues (Q2)
was the most highly rated item of importance. Alternatively, many respondents do not
agree that they have opportunities to collaborate on projects with colleagues (Q6).
The six questions were analyzed in a oneway repeated measure ANOVA and there was
a significant effect of Workplace Satisfaction, F(5,795) = 87.602, p < .000. Pairwise

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 160 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

Table 9 Rotated component matrix for strategic planning

Strategic planning Factor 1: Scholarship Factor 2: Course/ Factor 3:

of Teaching Iinstructor Evaluation Mandatory
Courses

Q10: there should be support services for the .842

scholarship of teaching and learning
Q9: there should be support services for .774
teaching staff who are applying for
university-wide, national, or international
teaching awards
Qll: there should be funds available for .763
innovative teaching explorations
Ql: new teaching staff should be provided .516 .419
with an option for sustained early
straining in distance-delivered teaching
Q3: new teaching staff should be provided .429
with an option for sustained early training
in effective teaching strategies with
asynchronous threaded discussions
Q5: there should be a university-wide end .856
of-course evaluation of instructors

Q6: there should be a university-wide end .775

of-course evaluation of course design
Q7: there should be a university-wide mid .696
course evaluation of instructors

Q8: there should be a graduate supervision .340 .601

evaluation form
Q2: there should be mandatory course on .883
distance-delivery for teaching
effectiveness for new teaching staff
Q4: there should be mandatory courses in .328 .833
effective teaching strategies with
asynchronous threaded discussions for
new teaching staff

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization

Table 10 Teaching beliefs

Teaching beliefs N M SD

Q3: I consider my own teaching practices to be important 159 4.53 .560

Q2: I believe that teaching is valued at my institution 159 3.69 1.181
Ql: I believe web-based technologies are essential to successful distance education
Valid N (listwise) 159

comparisons revealed that an effective working environment (Ql) and goo

relationships with academic (Q2) and non-academic colleagues (Q3) clustere
group and were rated significantly higher (all Bonferroni adjusted/? < .01) t
forming a separate group consisting of opportunities for coll?gial collabora

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 161

Table 11 Workplace
Workplace N M SD

Q2 I have good working relationships with academic colleagues 160 4.09 .767
Ql My primary workplace is an effective working environment 160 4.08 .809
Q3 I have good working relationships with non-academic colleagues 160 4.04 .764
Q5 I am provided with the necessary advice for professional growth 160 3.15 1.123
Q6 I am provided with the necessary resources for professional growth 160 3.06 1.112
Q4 I have good opportunities to collaborate on projects with my colleagues 160 3.01 1.168

professional growth advice (Q5) and professional growth resources (Q6) clustered into
another group Table 12.
A PCA with Varimax rotation was completed on the data in order to reduce the items
into underlying constructs. The resulting structure revealed two factors. The first factor
accounted for 37% of the variance and consisted of three items and could be described as
Professional Growth. The second factor accounted for 33% of the variance and consisted
of three satisfaction items and could be described as Coll?gial and Effective Workplace.
Based on the PCA, the questionnaire items associated with each factor were averaged to
create an estimate of the two underlying constructs. A paired Mest indicated a statistically
significant difference between these two subscales, t(161) = 15.071, p < .001. Workplace
Satisfaction (M = 4.08) was rated much higher than Professional Growth (M = 3.28).
There is a moderate correlation between these two subscales (Pearson's r = .509, p = .000,
n= 161).

Survey comments

At the end of each of the six sections, we invited the survey participants to provide
additional feedback. Sixty of the survey respondents provided additional comments. A
number of respondents expressed their concerns in terms of "not enough time" and "not
being paid" to participate in continuing learning opportunities, or having to give up paid
time to do so. Participants offered a variety of suggestions to help address time constraints
in relation to teaching effectiveness services, such as: an online community, the university
covering travel, accommodation, and paying all teaching staff to participate in sessions.

Table 12 Workplace
Workplace Professional Growth Workplace Satisfaction

Q5: good advice for professional growth .888

Q6: necessary resources for professional growth .861
Q4: good opportunities for collaboration .708 .359
Q16: good relations with non-academic colleagues .826
Q2: good relationships with academic colleagues .349 .766
Ql: effective working environment .724

Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization

Rotation converged in three iterations

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 162 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

The most frequently cited and recurring theme was related to isolation. The manner in
which the comments were written indicates this is a troublesome issue for many of the
survey respondents, with a sense of false promises made in regard to the benefits of
teleworking. The following are examples of comments that reflect the respondents concern
on this issue:

? Tele-commuting has failed as an experiment because it has virtually killed collegiality,

intellectual cross-fertilization, and the social dimension of the workplace
? I now work in almost complete isolation from the university and its staff/academics
? It is hard to have coll?gial discussions without a mail room, coffee room
? Distance teaching is a very isolating experience
? We need many more opportunities for coll?gial interaction
? Social exchanges are invaluable and cost of doing so every 2 months worth it
? I want and need coll?gial interactions

Discussion: from false promises to responsive solutions

The purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of how to
encourage the improvement of distance delivered teaching practices and to do so in ways
that can overcome many of the unique participation barriers for academics who are tele?
workers. Through descriptive and factor analyses we were able to provide suggestions for
structures and practices which can be managed skillfully to create an environment that
provides continuous learning opportunities to improve teaching. The results of this study
also provide suggestions for continuous learning activities that are likely to inspire
members of the instructional design team (curriculum designers and instructors) to inte?
grate pedagogically effective use of e-learning.
These findings are encouraging on a number of fronts. The most striking and positive
finding is that a very large majority of respondents strongly believe in the importance of
their own teaching practices. The desire to develop teaching skills is an essential foun?
dation to improving teaching practices. To overcome access barriers that teleworkers
experience, the data in this study indicate continuous learning activities should be deliv?
ered via digitally-based web-spaces whereby teleworkers can access the information from
their home office. The survey comments also indicate the desire to participate in face-to
face workshops is based on the assumption that time and travel to attend would be paid for
by the institution. This may well be a judicious investment on the part of the institution in
that this would provide an opportunity for the provision of teaching development and
coll?gial interactions, likely resulting in a greater identification with the institution, job
satisfaction and a reduction in turnover intentions. Given that a university's most valuable
and expensive resource is its academics, and a university's future is dependent upon the
success of its academics, providing funding for time and travel would almost certainly be a
wise investment.
In regard to areas of practice needed for the improvement of teaching, the data indicate
that the following are high priorities: motivate their learners; use different instructional
methods in an online classroom; deal with difficult online students, and; use course
management systems to improve learning. In regard to structures needed, the data indicate
new teaching staff should be provided with: an option for sustained early training in
distance-delivered online teaching; funds available for innovative teaching explorations;

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High Educ (2008) 56:149-165 163

support services for the scholarship of teaching and learning, and; support services for
university-wide, national, or international awards.
The results of this study also indicate that if new technologies are to be adopted in ways
that support learning centerd approaches, they need to be introduced with consideration of
the implications for improving teaching and learning. The data collected in our survey
support assertions made by Kirkwood and Price (2006) (see also Laurillard 2002) that one
of the main problems resulting in resistance to the use of technologies in higher education
is a focus on technologies rather than a focus on understanding the nature of learning and
teaching and how such issues impact on the effective use of technologies. The responses on
Teaching Resources (Table 4), for example, reveal that the technologically related ques?
tions (i.e., moderating text-based synchronous/asynchronous, use of wikis and blogs)
ranked significantly lower than Teaching Resources dealing with pedagogical approaches
(i.e., instructional methods, motivational strategies, dealing with difficult students). Hence,
while technologies can facilitate a movement toward exploring new ways of teaching and
learning in online distance delivery it must be lead by effective pedagogical underpinnings.
The comments in this study also raised additional concerns about time, tutors, tech?
nology support, mentoring, and course evaluations. Most of the comments, however,
revolved around feelings of isolation arising from teleworking policies and the importance
of coll?gial social interactions. Literature cited at the beginning of this paper indicates that
continuing learning opportunities is an option that can reduce feelings of isolation and
provide social interaction while at the same time help improve teaching practices.
According to Kinuthia (2005), the success of a faculty development program is influenced
by a shared vision, responsiveness to faculty needs, involvement of faculty in planning and
program development, and clearly defining and communicating policies, goals, and
objectives. This area in particular warrants further investigation.
Finally, this was an exploratory study that developed and piloted a survey. The data
analysis revealed that the survey items were valid and reliable. As such, this study also
makes a methodological contribution in respect to the survey administered.

Conclusions

We can conclude from the results of this study that most academics who are involved in the
development and delivery of distance learning activities care deeply about their work,
would like to participate in continuous learning opportunities, and want to be connected
with like-minded colleagues in the development of innovative interactions that support
excellence in instruction and the scholarship of teaching. Prior research has shown that if
left unattended, new hires?especially new hires who are teleworkers?experience a sense
of isolation that eventually progresses toward exasperation, disillusionment, and eventual
alienation (Eib and Miller 2006; Smith and Smith 1993). Also consistent with our survey
findings is Palmer's (1999) opinion that coll?gial socialization as an essential aspect of
teaching excellence. According to Palmer, without coll?gial socialization a privatization of
work evolves which "creates more than individual pain; it creates institutional incompe?
tence as well. By privatizing teaching, we make it next to impossible for the academy to
become more adept at its reaching mission" (p. 1). The outcome of privatized teaching is
that the performance becomes more conservative and few stray from their comfort zones in
regard to what is 'tried and true'?even when it does not work. In ODL institutions,
evidence of resistance to move from what Palmer refers to as the "silent consensus" (p. 1)
has been the resistance to move from the content dissemination model to an interactive

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 164 High Educ (2008) 56:149-165

learning centerd model which could be enabled through effective use of new communi?
cation tools.
Moreover, institutional offerings for continuous learning activities in ways that connect
colleagues are likely to result in an increase in job satisfaction and work performance.
Beyth-Marom, et al., (2006) notes further that offering continuous learning activities
(which are relatively low in costs), also results in improving relationships between tele?
workers and the institution. Hence, thoughtfully designed continuous learning activities
create a culture that supports excellence in teaching, while fostering connectedness
between and among colleagues and the institution. This is vital to continuous innovation
and improvement in ODL institutions.

Limitations of the study and further research

Essential to being able to operate within an innovative and changing environment is

knowing what structures and practices encourage the improvement of teaching perfor?
mances and to do so in ways that will overcome many of the unique barriers faced by ODL
institutions. We used a survey to explore this issue. Surveys are known to be effective at
providing descriptions of a target population and determining associations between data
items. The results of a well constructed survey can gather large scale data from a repre?
sentative sample population to predict with some measure of statistical confidence that
certain perceived behavior occurs with a degree of regularity and certain factors cluster
together. Alternatively, a well known drawback to surveys is that the results are superficial
unless combined with in-depth and more sensitive techniques. Specifically, closed item
survey data tells us 'what' is happening, but not 'why'. ODL institutions and their edu?
cational development and delivery staff are unique and plagued by many non-generalizable
complexities between and among graduate, undergraduate, paced and non-paced courses
and programs. In this instance, individual differences have been sacrificed for aggregated
survey responses. Additional research is needed to provide greater explanatory power from
the insiders' perspectives, and to gain greater understandings between the curriculum
developers, instructors, courses and programs.
Further research is also needed to determine whether the outcomes of this study can
create a culture that supports excellence in teaching, while fostering connectedness
between and among teleworkers and the institution. This is vital to continuous innovation
and improvement in teaching while at the same time realising many of the benefits of
teleworking cited at the beginning of this paper.

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